How to permanently delete files on mac without any chance of recovery

How to permanently delete files on Mac and ensure they cannot be recovered? you need to securely delete them so that they are overwritten and unrecoverable.

1. Using "Secure Empty Trash" (older macOS versions)

Note: This feature was removed in macOS Sierra (10.12) and later, but if you're on an older version, you can use it:

Right-click on the Trash icon in the Dock

Hold down the Option key, then select Secure Empty Trash

This overwrites deleted files to make recovery difficult.

2. Using Terminal to securely delete files

How to permanently delete files on Mac? For macOS versions newer than Sierra, Apple removed the "Secure Empty Trash" option. Instead, you can securely delete files via command line:

a) Use rm with -P (do a single overwrite):

rm -P /path/to/file

The -P option overwrites regular files three times before deleting (secure delete).

Note: This method is limited and may not be entirely foolproof for very sensitive data.

b) Use srm (secure delete command)

Note: The srm command was deprecated in newer macOS versions, but if available, you can use:

srm /path/to/file

If srm isn't available, you may need to install it via third-party tools:

brew install coreutils

and then use gsecuredelete or other tools.